FILE - In this Jan. 3, 2013, file photo, Rep. Steve Stockman, R-Texas, right, participates in a mock swearing-in ceremony with Speaker of the House Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, for the 113th Congress in Washington. Stockman, a suburban Houston Republican is mounting a long-shot challenge from the right against Senate minority whip John Cornyn but has made virtually no public appearances in Texas as questions mount about his campaign finances. Now, heÂs stopped showing up for his day job, too. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci, File)
Photo: Evan Vucci, STF

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz gives U.S. Senator John Cornyn a pat on the back after Cornyn spoke at the Fort Bend County Lincoln Dinner at Safari Texas in Richmond on Friday, Jan. 10, 2014, in Richmond.
Photo: J. Patric Schneider, For The Chronicle

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz gives U.S. Senator John Cornyn a pat on the...

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), right, and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) walk to the Senate floor for a vote in Washington, Oct. 14, 2013. Leaders in the Senate were nearing an agreement on reopening the government and raising the debt limit, as President Barack Obama warned that the country stood "a good chance of defaulting." (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
Photo: DOUG MILLS, STF

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), right, and Sen....

Photo: LM Otero

Senator Ted Cruz speaks during a news conference at the Capitol in Austin, Texas, on Monday, April 1, 2013. Cruz, along with other Republican officials, announced that they believe that Medicaid is a broken system, and that expanding it under the Affordable Care Act is the wrong move for Texas. Shown, from left, are Governor Rick Perry, US Senator John Cornyn and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst. (AP Photo/Austin American-Statesman, Deborah Cannon)
Photo: Deborah Cannon, Associated Press

Senator Ted Cruz speaks during a news conference at the Capitol in...

Congressman Roger Williams, left, speaks with reporters about the West, Texas fertilizer plant explosion as Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz listen at a news conference on Friday April 19, 2013. The massive explosion at the West Fertilizer Co. Wednesday night killed as many as 15 people and injured more than 160. The bodies of 12 people have been recovered, authorities said Friday. (AP Photo/Star-Telegram, Ron T. Ennis)
Photo: RON T. ENNIS, Associated Press

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn's commanding victory in the Texas primary won him a long-awaited backing Wednesday from tea party favorite Ted Cruz, the junior senator from Texas.

Cruz's decision to withhold his endorsement in the crowded GOP primary for the U.S. senate had been one of the biggest talking points of the race.

But on Wednesday, Cruz congratulated Cornyn via Facebook, calling him "a friend and a good man."

The message by Cruz followed a Tweet Tuesday night from Cornyn's chief rival, U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman, calling on his supporters to get behind "the whole Texas GOP ticket."

Cruz, a potential 2016 presidential candidate who holds sway with the anti-establishment wing of the GOP, praised Cornyn as a leader who has "earned considerable respect in the Senate." He added: "We have not agreed on everything, but we have agreed on the vast majority of issues. Together, we're a strong and effective team for Texas."